Wright writes.....

[t-b-g]

9 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

'The mechanisms  on LB are servos worked from GF Controls drive boards. I find their twin board very easy to use and reliable. It really is a "plug and play" device needing a power supply and an on/off switch. '

 

And they continue to work perfectly, Tony.

 

Just one thing to note; as we found, they needed a separate/independent source of power to that provided to control the trains. Otherwise there was interference.

 

Thank you again.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

It was my pleasure, even my honour, to have played a small role in your project Tony. I have been very lucky to have had in involvement in a couple of pretty "big name" layouts in the hobby, in Buckingham  and Retford. Having a small part to play in the Little Bytham story adds another.

 

Thanks for the reminder. Any change in power, such as the throw of a point motor drawing current, fools the servo drive board and can make the servo twitch. A dedicated power supply solves that.

[chris p bacon]

22 hours ago, t-b-g said:

After the visit to Missenden, when we had three "Valours" photographed together in 2, 4 and 7mm scales, the only comment I recall after Tim Watson posted a photo on his thread was that the dome on my 4mm version was wrong! The dome was loose and had just been plonked on for the photo and was never intended to be the finished article.

 

So I ended up having to defend plonking a wrong dome on for a photo. I won't be doing that again! So any "work in progress" will stay under wraps until it is finished and I am happy with it.

 

And yet the question I asked was.

I only wondered if there had been a change during the locomotives life, it wasn't written as criticism and I still can't see how it can be taken that way.

 

[Barry Ten]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

And a wonderful, stirring hymn it is Clive,

 

Even an atheist like me has sung it with gusto!

 

Free-standing bell towers? Chester Cathedral also has one, but it's modern (and, the last time I saw it, partly smeared with the daubings of the D stream!).

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

I used to work in Utrecht which also has a cathedral with a free-standing tower. The bit in the middle collapsed leaving the tower isolated.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin's_Cathedral,_Utrecht

[t-b-g]

15 minutes ago, chris p bacon said:

 

And yet the question I asked was.

I only wondered if there had been a change during the locomotives life, it wasn't written as criticism and I still can't see how it can be taken that way.

 

 

 

If I ever do make a criticism of a model, I often do it in terms of a query or question rather than an outright "You got that wrong" and I had jumped to the conclusion that you were doing the same. Many apologies if I misjudged it.

[St Enodoc]

18 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Doesn't that distant bridge I built now look wrong? 

Tony, I think it only looks wrong if you know it's wrong, if you get my drift.

[St Enodoc]

12 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Monday morning school assembly first hymn, To Be A Pilgrim, all five years of my secondary education.

I love that hymn. At our school, it was only sung at the final assembly before the end of term!

[St Enodoc]

 

5 hours ago, Woodcock29 said:

Thanks Tony

 

I shall have to search around for some 0.4mm nickel silver wire then. I have got some very fine N/S wire and some thicker stuff but not what I need!

 

Andrew

Andrew, the stuff that comes in Ratio kits is 0.5mm n/s, which might be OK.

[Headstock]

My own version of a Thompson hybrid kit. The solebars, floorpan, sides and ends (the latter with modified profile) are Comet. Underframe details, roof and roof components are MJT, the bogies but not the wheels, in this case are Hornby. The angle iron, queen posts and other trussing are brass L section.

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Headstock
add space between text and image.

[Bucoops]

21 minutes ago, Headstock said:

My own version of a Thompson hybrid kit. The solebars, floorpan, sides and ends (the latter with modified profile) are Comet. Underframe details, roof and roof components are MJT, the bogies but not the wheels, in this case are Hornby. The angle iron, queen posts and other trussing are brass L section.

 

 

That wouldn't look out of place in the Louvre - what a work of art.

[chris p bacon]

33 minutes ago, Bucoops said:

 

That wouldn't look out of place in the Louvre - what a work of art.

 

I'm told that some of mine wouldn't look out of place in the loo......

[t-b-g]

7 hours ago, Woodcock29 said:

Thanks Tony

 

I shall have to search around for some 0.4mm nickel silver wire then. I have got some very fine N/S wire and some thicker stuff but not what I need!

 

Andrew

 

I get mine from Wizard models, sold as round point rodding but useful for many other purposes! Of course it has to come a long way to reach you so if you have some handy, that might be better.

[t-b-g]

1 hour ago, Headstock said:

My own version of a Thompson hybrid kit. The solebars, floorpan, sides and ends (the latter with modified profile) are Comet. Underframe details, roof and roof components are MJT, the bogies but not the wheels, in this case are Hornby. The angle iron, queen posts and other trussing are brass L section.

 

 

Many years ago I saw a steel LNER design carriage painted in "fake" teak finish on a preserved railway and thought how lovely it looked when it was "just right". Yours captures that perfectly. There is an undefinable "glow" to the finish that is very difficult to capture (I have tried painting teak carriages many times and not got close to that look) but you seem to have the knack!

[zr2498]

A little project just finished off today.

Extended Peco Loco Lift cradles to make handling of the larger locos (Garratts) easier, especially good after weathering is done

 

There is more detail of this on the link below:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42598-Heljan-beyer-garratt/page/99/

 

Dave

 

 

[Woodcock29]

40 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

 

I get mine from Wizard models, sold as round point rodding but useful for many other purposes! Of course it has to come a long way to reach you so if you have some handy, that might be better.

I need to make up an order from Wizard so will look out for some on the website  thanks Tony (G).

 

Andrew

[westerner]

It was this sort of Ben Ashworth type photos that inspired me to do Blakeney, no flashy pacifics  on fast expresses, only hard working panniers surrounded by trees.

 

 

[Headstock]

1 hour ago, chris p bacon said:

 

I'm told that some of mine wouldn't look out of place in the loo......

 

There must be some superb artwork hanging in loos up and down the country.

 

1 hour ago, t-b-g said:

 

Many years ago I saw a steel LNER design carriage painted in "fake" teak finish on a preserved railway and thought how lovely it looked when it was "just right". Yours captures that perfectly. There is an undefinable "glow" to the finish that is very difficult to capture (I have tried painting teak carriages many times and not got close to that look) but you seem to have the knack!

 

Thanks, Tony,

 

I seem to use a much brighter base coat than most, something like warning panel yellow. I also mix my own teak, probably about a quarter to a third of the mix is gloss varnish. When representing a true teak carriage, this is built up in three or four washes/ glazes, the fourth wash being a darker weathering layer if required. With a Thompson a thicker single layer of paint is required for the panelling. As a result, a more golden yellow base coat is required. The idea is that the base colour will always shine through and the glazes provide a luminescence to the finish.

[Headstock]

This is a much earlier version, directly inspired by Tony's 'Elizabethan' set. In this case Comet sides again on to an old Bachmann donor. It utilises Tony's techniques with the re-profiling of the roof etc. I think that I cut out much more of the sides in my version and I cut away the moulded on battery boxes and vac cylinders, leaving the angle iron in situ. All underframe gubbins was then replaced with MJT components. The Bachmann bogies were re wheeled, though they look a little clunky these days and the destination board brackets are little over scale. Both are easily upgraded and are probably worth doing.

[Tony Wright]

5 hours ago, Headstock said:

This is a much earlier version, directly inspired by Tony's 'Elizabethan' set. In this case Comet sides again on to an old Bachmann donor. It utilises Tony's techniques with the re-profiling of the roof etc. I think that I cut out much more of the sides in my version and I cut away the moulded on battery boxes and vac cylinders, leaving the angle iron in situ. All underframe gubbins was then replaced with MJT components. The Bachmann bogies were re wheeled, though they look a little clunky these days and the destination board brackets are little over scale. Both are easily upgraded and are probably worth doing.

I think this in a different class to my conversions, Andrew.

 

I'm glad I was the inspiration, and what you've just shown us is surely that: inspirational!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Tony Wright]

Many visitors (of which there is none at the moment) often ask me about the fiddle yard operations on LB (the operation which I cock-up the most!). 

 

I hope the following pictures explain............

 

The north end of the main line fiddle yard. There are 20 roads, two of which are left free for trains from the kick-back sidings; the road furthest to the right for Up trains and the penultimate one to the left for Down trains. Four of the roads have two trains in them. Spare locos abound! 

 

 

More trains are accommodated in cassettes; in this case extra Down ones. I have to say I'm not a great fan of cassettes; there seems to me to be the ever-present danger of damage. 

 

 

With care, however, they do work. In this shot, a rake is waiting to be pushed into the free Down road. A loco is then put on, the train makes one circuit, the loco removed and the cassette returned to its storage space. 

 

 

There are six further kick-back sidings on the Down side. Here, a goods train is reversing out into the free Down road. It will do one circuit, then return. 

 

 

The south end fiddle yard. Both Up and Down pick-ups are in their respective kick-back sidings. Light engines are just placed on the free roads when it's their turn. The two trains to the right are in kick-back sidings. The fiddle yard control panel can be seen. Just simple stud contact for points via a CDU, and simple on/off switches for each road. No DCC here! 

 

 

There are seven, hidden kick-back sidings on the Down side (eight with the one for the pick-up). Four are long and three are short. In this view, a short freight is reversing out ready to go once round. Apologies for the distortion caused by my having to use a wide-angle lens.

 

 

And, away it goes......

 

 

Don't ask me how I got this shot! It shows the four long kick-back sidings on the Down side. They're behind the backscene. 

 

With all this coming and going, backwards and forwards, it's imperative that operation is 'perfect'. I don't use tension-locks because they (in my experience) cause derailments, especially when attached to bogies and when pushing stock. All my stock pushes off the buffers/headstocks, as it should. 

 

At any one time there are 47 main line trains for use in the sequence. There are over 50 moves in the sequence, because some shunting is involved with the pick-ups. The pick-ups use Sprat & Winkle couplings. The rest of the stock uses my own. 

 

 

The first view of the MR/M&GNR fiddle yard, with two of the Down-side main line kick-back sidings below to the left. 

 

 

 

 

Further MR/M&GNR fiddle yard views. The 'pointy' thing made of MDF hanging up enables me to change the points beyond arm's length. It's digital!

 

There are nine trains made up on the little bit of LB, but any number more can be made up and placed on the bi-directional through road. 

 

Though it requires some 'fiddling', the higher fiddle yard will lift off should maintenance be required on the GN main line below. 

 

Another question I'm often asked is 'How have you acquired so much stock?' '40+ years of making it!' There is others' work as well, but most of the locos and passenger rolling stock I've built in the last four decades and a bit.

 

Building (with a great amount of help) something like Little Bytham, one has to be in for the 'long-haul'!

[Ray Flintoft]

Thankyou , Tony , Hazel & I are both well . Hazel has been laid off from work for the foreseeable future , so I am trying to get her to help with the housework ! just joking . I think this thread is vital for us all to keep in touch , it certainly is flying along at the moment . I love seeing other peoples work & would hope that any criticism is given in a helpful & friendly manner , we all need encouragement , especially now .

   Regarding the virus there are reports that in an area of York youths are running up to old people & coughing or spitting in their faces .  Words fail me . So , please everyone stay safe & keep posting  

        Best Wishes ,

                          Ray .

 

[thegreenhowards]

7 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

The provision of the Thompson catering cars is vital for an accurate post-War steam-age ECML depiction. It's a shame Bachmann didn't think to make one in its RTR range.

 

 

Indeed, more vital than the five diagrams that they do produce. The ordinary stock was relegated to secondary services and strengtheners by the late ‘50s. I’m sure a RF/ RSP (or RSO) pair would sell well.

 

[The Johnster]

Same with GW catering vehicles, mostly Colletts rebuilt by Hawksworth, common on named trains on the region long after they'd been given mk1 stock otherwise.  H do a Collett Restaurant and Comet do suitable replacement sides, but this is not the same as RTR provision.  The LMS and Southern are provided for.

[zr2498]

5 hours ago, zr2498 said:

A little project just finished off today.

Extended Peco Loco Lift cradles to make handling of the larger locos (Garratts) easier, especially good after weathering is done

 

There is more detail of this on the link below:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42598-Heljan-beyer-garratt/page/99/

 

Dave

 

 

And here is the standard loco storage system

 

More details can be found here:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/152782-locomotive-storage-boxes-with-no-handling/

 

Dave

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, Ray Flintoft said:

Thankyou , Tony , Hazel & I are both well . Hazel has been laid off from work for the foreseeable future , so I am trying to get her to help with the housework ! just joking . I think this thread is vital for us all to keep in touch , it certainly is flying along at the moment . I love seeing other peoples work & would hope that any criticism is given in a helpful & friendly manner , we all need encouragement , especially now .

   Regarding the virus there are reports that in an area of York youths are running up to old people & coughing or spitting in their faces .  Words fail me . So , please everyone stay safe & keep posting  

        Best Wishes ,

                          Ray .

 

Thanks Ray,

 

I think RMweb is akin to a 'lifeline' in these extreme circumstances.

 

I've heard reports of such abominable actions, including it being done to the police. It really does beggar belief. What kind of warped mind thinks of such things? 

 

To just show the other side of the coin, the local spirit here has been fantastic. Younger folk are offering to shop for the oldies/at risk and the local shop (in the next village - we don't have one now) has offered to deliver goods.

 

As you say, all on here keep safe and please keep on showing us what you're doing.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Indeed, more vital than the five diagrams that they do produce. The ordinary stock was relegated to secondary services and strengtheners by the late ‘50s. I’m sure a RF/ RSP (or RSO) pair would sell well.

 

Good evening Andy,

 

I hope all is well with you and yours. 

 

When I assisted Bachmann with the development of its Thompson carriages, I arrived slightly late in the process (after the range had been decided). Members of the design team borrowed cars I'd made, including catering vehicles. I was told it was a pity that the decision not to include catering cars had been taken. 

 

From what I could tell, they looked at the prototype numbers built and, obviously, catering cars were the fewest. Equally obviously, for the main trains, at least two or three were needed, but this didn't seem to have been factored-in. A pity? Not really, it gives the likes of us something to build.

 

When Dave Lewis and I were making the first 'Elizabethan' sets, we arranged the etched sheets to have one each of the one-off cars on them. From memory, I think we got eight carriages (16 sides) on a sheet. So, there was one BG, one FK (with ladies' retiring room), one RF, one RSO and four SKs. Guess what? The one-offs sold like mad, but the much-more-numerous SKs hardly moved. Folk weren't building the train! They liked the one-offs. In the end the artwork was altered to give two each of the singular ones - there were more than enough half sheets of SKs left!

 

Later on, the other types were produced (including the SK with ladies' retiring room and the Buffet - not in the 'Lizzie' from 1957). 

 

The Mk.1 cars to make up the Aberdeen portion of the 'LIzzie' came from Dave's own Mk.1 SP range.

 

 

 

As mentioned, the TK (later SK) with ladies' retiring room came later' Again, this is a Southern Pride/Bachann meld I made for service in 'The Heart of Midlothian'. 

 

 

One modification was to take the PV sides and produce an ordinary Thompson TK/SK by the same process. All I did was to snip off the solebar-covering skirts (tinsnips and file) and add roof ventilators (not only are the Bachmann ones too small, they're also moulded down the centre line of the carriage, not the compartments as they should be. Yet one still sees unaltered original Bachmann Thompsons running on layouts!). Pictures show the occasional non-PV SK in the 'Lizzie', which is what I've done. One advantage was that I didn't have to change the bogies, though I did change the wheels.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Tony Wright
to clarify a point